The Weizmann Fast Astronomical Survey Telescope (W-FAST): System Overview
Abstract
A relatively unexplored phase space of transients and stellar variability is that of second and sub-second time-scales. We describe a new optical observatory operating in the Negev desert in Israel, with a 55 cm aperture, a field of view of 2.6x2.6 deg (~7deg^2) equipped with a high frame rate, low read noise, CMOS camera. The system can observe at a frame rate of up to 90HZ (full frame), while nominally observations are conducted at 10-25Hz. The data, generated at a rate of over 6Gbits/s at a frame rate of 25Hz, are analyzed in real time. The observatory is fully robotic and capable of autonomously collecting data on a few thousand stars in each field each night. We present the system overview, performance metrics, science objectives, and some first results, e.g., the detection of a high rate of glints from geosynchronous satellites, reported in Nir et al. 2020.
Cite
@article{arxiv.2105.03436,
title = {The Weizmann Fast Astronomical Survey Telescope (W-FAST): System Overview},
author = {Guy Nir and Eran O. Ofek and Sagi Ben-Ami and Noam Segev and David Polishook and Ofir Hershko and Oz Diner and Ilan Manulis and Barak Zackay and Avishay Gal-Yam and Ofer Yaron},
journal= {arXiv preprint arXiv:2105.03436},
year = {2021}
}
Comments
13 pages, 18 figures. Submitted to PASP